Isaiah 59

Isaiah 59Expanded Bible (EXB)

The Evil That People Do

59 Surely the Lord’s ·power [L hand] is ·enough [L not too short] to save you.·He can hear you when you ask him for help [L …nor his ear too heavy to hear].2 It is your ·evil [iniquity] that has separatedyou from your God.Your sins cause him to ·turn away [L hide his face] from you,so he does not hear you.3 ·With your hands you have killed others [L For your hands are defiled with blood],and ·with your fingers you have done wrong [L your fingers with sin/iniquity].With your lips you have lied,and with your tongue you ·say [utter; mutter] evil things.4 ·People take each other to court unfairly [L No one sues with cause; or No one calls for justice],and no one tells the truth in ·arguing [setting forth; pleading] his case.They ·accuse each other falsely [or rely on empty arguments] and tell lies.They ·cause [L conceive] trouble and ·create more [L give birth to] evil.5 They hatch ·evil like eggs [L eggs] from ·poisonous snakes [vipers].If you eat one of those eggs, you will die,and if you break one open, a poisonous snake comes out.People ·tell lies as they would spin [L spin] a spider’s web.6 The webs they make cannot be used for clothes;you can’t cover yourself with ·those webs [L what they make].The things they do are evil,and ·they use their hands to hurt others [L a deed of violence is in their hands].7 ·They eagerly [L Their feet] run to do evil [Prov. 1:16; Rom. 3:15–17],and they are always ready to ·kill innocent people [L shed innocent blood].They ·think evil thoughts [or devise evil schemes].·They cause ruin and destruction everywhere they go [Ruin and destruction are in their paths/roads].8 They don’t know ·how to live in [L the path/way of] peace,and there is no ·fairness [justice] in their ·lives [paths].They ·are dishonest [act deceitfully; L have made their paths/ways crooked].Anyone who ·lives as they live [walks on them] will never ·have [know] peace.

Israel’s Sin Brings Trouble

9 ·Fairness [Justice] has gone far away;·goodness [righteousness] ·is nowhere to be found [L does not reach/overtake us].We ·wait [hope] for the light, but ·there is only darkness now [L look/T behold, darkness].We ·hope [wait] for a bright light, but ·all we have is darkness [L we walk in gloom/shadows/darkness].10 We are like the blind ·feeling our way [groping] along a wall.We ·feel our way [grope] as if we had no eyes.·In the brightness of day [At midday/noon] we ·trip [stumble] as if it were ·night [evening; twilight].We are like dead men ·among the strong [or in desolate places].11 All of us growl like the bears.We ·call out sadly [moan/coo mournfully] like the doves.We ·look [hope; wait] for justice, but there isn’t any.We ·want to be saved [hope/wait for salvation], but salvation is far away.

12 ·We have done many wrong things [L For our sins/transgressions are many] ·against our God [L before you];our sins ·show we are wrong [L testify against us].·We know we have turned against God [L Our transgressions are with us];we know the ·evil things [iniquities] we have done:13 ·sinning [transgressing; rebelling] and ·rejecting [L lying against] the Lord,turning ·away from [our backs to] our God,·planning to hurt others and to disobey God [L speaking oppression and revolt],·planning [conceiving] and speaking lies.14 So we have driven away justice,and ·we have kept away from what is right [L righteousness stands far off].Truth ·is not spoken [stumbles] in the ·streets [public squares];what is honest ·is not allowed to enter the city [L cannot enter].15 Truth ·cannot be found anywhere [is lost/gone; or fails],and people who refuse to do evil ·are attacked [become prey].

The Lord looked and could not find any justice,and he was displeased.16 He ·could not find anyone to help the people [L saw there was no one],and he was ·surprised [shocked; appalled] that there was no one to ·help [intervene].So ·he used his own power to save the people [L his own arm brought him salvation];his own ·goodness [righteousness] gave him strength.17 He ·covered himself with goodness [put on righteousness] like ·armor [a breastplate].He put the helmet of salvation on his head [1 Thess. 5:8; Eph. 6:13–17].He put on ·his clothes for punishing [garments of vengeance]and wrapped himself in ·the coat of his strong love [zeal/jealousy as a cloak].18 The Lord will ·pay back his enemies [L repay] ·for what they have done [according to their deeds].He will show his ·anger [wrath] to ·those who were against him [his adversaries]and will ·punish [repay] his ·enemies [foes];he will ·punish [repay] the ·people in faraway places [or islands; or coastlands] as they deserve.19 Then people from the west will fear the [L name of the]Lord,and people from the ·east [rising of the sun] will fear his glory.·The Lord[L For he] will come quickly like a ·fast-flowing [or pent up] river,driven by the ·breath [or wind; or Spirit] of the Lord.

20 “Then a Savior will come to ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]and to the people of Jacob who have turned from ·sin [transgressions],”says the Lord[Rom. 11:26–27].

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